Video: "Sing With Me" (Live at Lollapalooza 2011) - Haley Bonar

There's lots of video from last weekend's Lollapalooza floating around, even some from the Kidzapalooza stage. And maybe I'll get around to more of it, but for now I just want to share a couple Haley Bonar performances because, well, I think she's the bees' knees. I'm trusting this isn't the last time we'll hear family music from Bonar...

Haley Bonar - "Sing With Me" (Live at Lollapalooza 2011) []

Bonus swingin' video from Bonar after the jump...

Haley Bonar - "Wanna Be Like You" (Live at Lollapalooza 2011) [YouTube]

Kidzapalooza 2011 Lineup Announced

With Lollapalooza celebrating its 20th anniversary in Chicago this year (August 5-7 in Grant Park), Kidzapalooza celebrated in a very special way:

By releasing its performer lineup before the Austin City Limits/Austin Kiddie Limits announcement for a festival that's usually about 2 months after Lolla.

Some of the lineup had been previously leaked, but the big five are:

Keller Williams
Haley Bonar
Ralph's World
Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
Big Bang Boom

In addition to these bands, the lineup also includes the Q Brothers (there every year performing and doing rap/beatbox workshops with the kids), Peter DiStefano and Tor (there every year), and Northbrook Garage, Kate Diaz, and the Happiness Club, all youth performers. (And here's something to think -- it's a nice feather in a cap for an established musician to be able to say they played Lolla, but can you imagine what it's like for a Chicago-area teenager?)

That's a solid lineup right there once again. Anyway, if you want to see the lineup announced by Kidzapalooza co-founder Tor Hyams' kids, here's a YouTube video for ya. Tor's son looks so much like Tor it's scary. Except for the glasses.

Listen To This: "Sing With Me" - Haley Bonar

It made my list of 2010's best kids music albums, but in my review of Haley Bonar's Sing With Me EP, I couldn't provide listening links. Bonar's now rectified that -- you can stream the whole darn thing:

And, what's this? Another new album from Bonar?
That's right -- it's Bonar's recently-released all-instrumental album LeO. There's nothing kid-focused here, but it is a bit dreamy and guaranteed to be curse-word-free.

Interview: Haley Bonar

Haley Bonar's late 2009 kids' EP Sing With Me was one of the most surprising and gratifying (and too brief) releases of the year, heartfelt and featuring Bonar's clear and beautiful voice. It's a combination that worked just as well on her most recent album for adults, 2008's Big Star.

I'm always interested in getting a wide range of perspectives on the family music scene, from those who have been in it for many years to those who've only peered in the window just a little bit. I also like talking with cool musicians. So this interview meets both those standards. Bonar talked with me a couple weeks ago as she was on the road, moving back to Minneapolis from Portland, Oregon, sharing with me musical stories of growing up, life sharing music as a nanny, and the beauty of awkward dancing.

Zooglobble: What are your musical memories growing up?
Haley Bonar: I conducted a lot of plays. We had a Schoenhut piano. I would make my mom play while I danced in a circle. We weren't super-musical, but we listened to it a lot. I never shut up.

When did you decide to become a musician, to make it a career?
Hmmm.... I didn't really know that it was a real career. A career means making money and I don't make money. Of course, now I'm super-rich [chuckles]. No, there wasn't a single defining moment.

You worked as a nanny -- how would you work music into your daily life?
The first full-time position I had was 3 sisters. These kids listened to really bad music and I couldn't deal. They did better after their mom took 'em to a show. Then the kids only wanted to listen to my two uptempo songs.

The Portland family was part-time -- the younger girl had to listen to it all the time. Other than that, not as much -- being a nanny supported the habit of being a musician.

What led to the EP?
My dad was always asking me to record something. So I recorded it in October just to have something new on sale when I went on tour.

Which sold better: your Christmas EP or the kids' EP?
I don't know. I just got the kids' EP on iTunes, so it's sort of hard to compare. I think it [the kids' EP] is doing pretty well, though.

Have you noticed any difference between playing for kids and playing for adults?
Well, I've really only done a few shows. One was with Rock the Cradle at Minnesota Public Radio. That was amazing. Also at the Walker Art Center [in Minneapolis]. It was all ages, which is I think the highest complement you can get as an artist. It's not just cute boys in shorts and cute glasses. When parents say, "My kids love your records," it feels great.

I also played at this crazy bookstore in the Twin Cities called Wild Rumpus. It was packed -- full of kids that were cute, and the parents were cute, and the kids were dancing really awkward, and I love that. I feel like families are attending more of my shows now...

You're working on a new album now, right?
The new album is recorded, and will be mixed in a couple weeks, so it's the later stages of the process. I'm still trying to figure out when it'll be released. It's really different -- my favorite album so far... It's definitely not Mary Poppins.

Photos by Cameron Wittig

Video: "Beautiful You" (Live) - Haley Bonar

I swooned over Sing With Me, the kids' EP from Haley Bonar, but a downside of that particular review is that there aren't any sound clips.

So I thought I'd close out this Friday by sharing this video of "Beautiful You," recorded by a Duluth radio station when Bonar stopped by to play a few of her tunes. Aside from the inability of Bonar to sing harmony with herself live (as she does on record), it sounds a lot like the album version.

That is to say, beautiful.

Haley Bonar - "Beautiful You" (Live) [Vimeo]

Beautiful You from The Duluth Scene on Vimeo.